The Elder Scrolls Mods Wiki:Consensus
:See also: Wikipedia:Consensus and Wikipedia:Polling is not a substitute for discussion Consensus is the wiki's primary means of reaching an outcome. A consensus is reached through amicable discussion in the Consensus Track board, without the use of voting templates. Any user is free to make a thread if they disagree with something on the wiki. Discussion can then ensue between the thread creator and the community to find the best way that the situation can be resolved. The outcome of consensus should be a compromise of all active participants of the discussion that everyone can agree upon. There are times in which a poll is necessary: for example, when a consensus is made about an existing staff member, a poll may be necessary to reach the final verdict. However, the poll should be made at the end of the discussion, the thread should not simply devolve into a large discussion of support and oppose votes: this means that people can give factual information and opinions without feeling that they are influencing the outcome, until they have seen the wider communities view regarding the staff member. Please be aware that certain discussions cannot be simply discussed and require a vote anyway. If a thread is attempting to discuss how to change something, it probably doesn't require a vote: if a thread is discussing an aspect of enabling a tool or feature for the wiki, it's most likely going to require a vote. This does NOT mean that a thread requesting the enabling of a tool, user right or feature is immune to discussion: there should still be some discussion within the thread, pure voting will not lead to any viable outcome. It should be noted that there is no specific policy regarding consensus threads. What should be noted is the following: * Please assume good faith in the consensus, do not assume the user is simply trying to change the wiki in a direction that you don't approve of. * Please observe general wiki etiquette in a consensus. The goal of a consensus is to reach an amicable outcome: if users insult each other because of opinion differences, there will not be a sensible outcome and the consensus will lead nowhere. * Please respect everyone else's opinions. Every user here will have a different idea about how the wiki should be run, don't attack others just because you don't like other people's opinions. * Some consensus threads may not meet your tastes, or you may be personally biased in regards to certain consensus threads. Please keep neutral: biased consensus threads will lead nowhere and will likely be closed. * There will be no discrimination in consensus threads against users who have not made contributions to the wiki. Every user is welcome to contribute and discuss in consensus threads: ignoring users just because of their lack of contributions will not be tolerated. ** It should be noted that users with less than 3 edits on the wiki should not vote in consensus threads. ** It should be noted that users should not edit only for the sake of being able to vote. Category:Policy